"My brother has been weird lately, like he's become a completely different person."
"When I asked him for things before, even if he refused, he would always make time for me the next day. But now he just says 'next time,' and then breaks his promise every time."
"I originally wanted to ask Brother Shisui what was going on… but Brother Shisui seems to have disappeared."
"People in the clan say he's dead, that he died during a mission. But I can tell they're hiding something from me. No one will tell me the truth..."
In class, Sasuke muttered his troubles quietly to Naruto, looking unusually bothered.
Naruto couldn't help blinking in surprise.
…Wait.
Is this really the cool, ice-block, 'don't talk to me' Sasuke I know?
Did the sun rise from the west today?
Noticing Naruto staring at him, Sasuke instantly snapped back to his usual cold expression, like nothing had happened, and continued listening to the lecture.
Naruto: Yeah, there it is. Factory settings restored.
To Sasuke, Naruto was a rival. He refused to lose to him in anything — grades, training, or even who blinked first.
Sakura also noticed Sasuke acting strange and tried to ask what was wrong, but Sasuke shot her a cold look.
She immediately froze.
Hand halfway raised.
Heart halfway shattered.
Sakura slowly withdrew her hand, looking wronged, silently wondering why Naruto could talk to Sasuke but she couldn't.
Life is unfair.
On the podium, Iruka watched the scene with relief.
Naruto had become much more normal lately.
No more pranks.
No more random trouble.
No more giving teachers heart attacks.
He even took the initiative to make friends and blend in with the class.
It was almost suspicious.
Everything seemed related to the Uchiha and the Police Force.
Recently, the Police Force had replaced Naruto as the villagers' favorite gossip topic. Compared to the old Nine-Tails incident, people were now more concerned about the Uchiha's increasingly aggressive behavior.
After all, it directly affected their daily lives.
What Iruka, Sasuke, and the others didn't know was—
The Naruto sitting in the classroom…
was just a shadow clone.
...
Inside the Forest of Death.
A restricted area filled with wild beasts that could easily tear apart Genin.
If these creatures were outside the village, they'd be straight-up disasters for civilians.
But for Naruto, who already had Jonin-level strength?
This place was basically a free buffet.
No scheming humans.
No ANBU surveillance.
No annoying old men smoking pipes and spying on him with crystal balls.
Just pure nature.
And food that delivered itself.
As long as he released a bit of killing intent, most beasts ran faster than academy students during exams.
After hunting, Naruto returned to his hidden base carrying several chunks of bloody raw meat.
He casually stewed some vegetables and meat together.
Soon, the cave smelled ridiculously good.
If Teuchi from Ichiraku were here, he'd probably cry and recruit Naruto on the spot.
Naruto ate happily while feeding the blind Shisui, at least keeping him alive.
Can't let the experiment die too early, after all.
Shisui, having lost both eyes, could only rely on smell, hearing, and touch.
From the humidity, he judged he was underground, still somewhere in the Land of Fire.
And weirdly…
Whoever captured him cooked insanely well.
Seriously.
If this ninja failed at kidnapping, he could open a restaurant.
Other than that, the information he could gather was limited.
The opponent was at least Jonin-level.
Possibly mastered techniques from both the Uchiha and the Hyuga.
Which made zero sense.
Since when did those two clans share anything besides mutual side-eye?
ANBU? Root?
But if Root had caught him, Danzo would've already ripped out his other eye like a greedy old crow.
Something didn't add up.
Even if he figured it out, though, what could he do?
Blind.
Chakra pathways sealed.
Caged like a chicken.
Realistically… suicide was the only option.
But after calming down, Shisui abandoned that thought.
Dying wouldn't solve anything.
The conflict between the clan and the village wouldn't magically disappear just because he checked out early.
Only by living… could he change something.
So he had to survive.
Then escape.
But… how?
Shisui sank into deep thought.
He didn't even realize that without the Mangekyō Sharingan clouding his mind, his thinking had become clearer.
After lunch, Naruto rubbed his stuffed stomach and walked to the cage.
Standing outside, he stared at Shisui for a while, then said lazily:
"So… gave up on suicide and started planning an escape instead?"
"Is this the legendary 'Shisui of the Body Flicker' strategy?"
Shisui turned toward the voice.
"Who are you? Captain Fugaku's hidden Jonin… or the Third Hokage's subordinate?"
Naruto grinned.
"Neither. If I had to describe myself… I'm just a background character in Konoha."
"The kind nobody notices."
"The type who could die in a ditch and people would just go, 'Huh, wasn't there someone standing here yesterday?'"
Shisui frowned. "A background person…?"
Then he asked, "Why not kill me? You already took my eyes."
Naruto smiled casually.
"Because it's fun."
"I'm really looking forward to everyone's faces when someone who 'should be dead' suddenly shows up again."
Shisui froze. "Just… for fun?"
Naruto shrugged.
"That's part of it."
"Also… after losing the Sharingan, doesn't the world feel clearer?"
"Honestly, that pair of eyes messes with your heads more than it helps."
Shisui fell silent.
He had to admit…
The past few days, his thoughts really had become calmer.
But he didn't trust Naruto.
Anyone who casually says kidnapping is 'fun' is definitely not normal.
Naruto didn't wait for a reply.
He turned and entered another room.
Inside were a stone bed and a workbench covered with surgical tools.
Cold. Sharp. Slightly terrifying.
Very mad-scientist vibes.
Naruto formed a shadow clone.
Then calmly lay down on the bed.
Time for self-surgery.
If anyone else saw this, they'd probably faint.
He had spent a long time learning medical ninjutsu for future eye transplants.
After all—
Immortal body + immortal eyes?
That combo crushes Kage-level opponents like stepping on bugs.
The surgery went smoothly.
Half an hour later, Naruto removed his original eyes and replaced them with Shisui's Mangekyō Sharingan.
When he opened them—
The world instantly became sharper.
Slower.
Clearer.
Not that time slowed.
His perception had simply skyrocketed.
Looking into the mirror, he saw the strange Mangekyō pattern staring back.
Like Kakashi's transplanted eye, it couldn't be turned off.
Meaning constant chakra drain.
Basically a chakra black hole.
Jonin-level reserves would get sucked dry in minutes.
"…What a greedy pair of eyes," Naruto muttered.
Then he tried activating Kotoamatsukami.
The feedback from the Sharingan made him freeze on the spot.
His expression changed.
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